Emmanuel Rodriguez Open To Dropping Down For Title Bout

Undefeated bantamweight prospect Emmanuel 'Manny' Rodríguez is not ruling out the possibility of dropping down in weight for the right fight at junior bantamweight in 2016.

Rodriguez, who this past November in Florida closed the year out with his fourth win of the year by knockout, is seriously evaluating the idea of going down to pursue a world title at 115 pounds.

"We ended the year with four fights I said we would do in 2015," said Juan Orengo, manager of Rodriguez, to Carlos Narvaez.

"We are making offers to the champions. We are available to fight anybody at 118 pounds or any of the champions at 115 pounds. For 115, Manny will have to do some dieting, but if we get that opportunity we will take it. I think Manny can be champion at 115 and that would be the first step in becoming a three-division champion, which is our goal."

Rodriguez had a great 2015 in which he improved to 14-0 10KO's. He also signed on with powerful adviser Al Haymon, who works with Rocky Martinez, Jose Pedraza and several other Puerto Rican fighters.

In November at the Hialeah Park Race, he beat Dominican contender Eliecer Aquino by TKO in the seventh round. It was Rodriguez's first fight outside of his native Puerto Rico. He currently holds WBA and WBC regional titles at 118.

"It Is Manny himself who is telling us that he can make 115 pounds. So we'll take a look at things, to see if it is possible to face a junior bantamweight champion. Manny has not stopped working and he is already preparing for the month of February or early March," the manager said.

They have ruled out a fight with countryman McJoe Arroyo, who holds the IBF title. They are willing to face Mexico's Carlos Cuadras, who holds the WBC championship at 155, and they would also face Naoya Inoue or Kohei Kono who hold the WBA and WBO belts respectively.